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'I need to change things in my game' - Perry Baker
What a great way for the USA to start 2019 as the top ranked team in the HSBC World Rugby Seven Series. However, we know that ranking makes us the target for every other team and so the challenge is to stay on top of the log.
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It is a great position to be in and we have set our goal to finish in the top four at the end of this Series to automatically qualify for the Olympic Games in Japan in 2020 and to be No.1 going into this weekend’s Hamilton tournament in New Zealand is a real boost for everyone in the USA squad. The priority now is to stay level headed and keep things moving along smoothly and it’s about maintaining that focus.
Opposition teams are evolving strategically and I need to change things in my game to respond to that and deliver something different in my role with the USA team. Defences are changing and so you have to recognise that is happening and come up with new strategies to be more decisive and incisive. Last year we were really showed some great rugby and then looked totally different in the next leg and so finding that consistency is vital and that is what great teams produce.
There has been a lot more social media attention because of what we have achieved so far this season and having won the Las Vegas leg last year there has been a lot of interest from fans who want to be there to see us defend that title. I am lucky to have a lot of followers on social media and at first they probably wanted to just check out who this guy is who was named World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year and having been fortunate to be named for a second successive year people are sending me messages and catching up with video of our matches.
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In other news: Maro Itoje commits future to Saracens with new deal until 2022
Here in New Zealand everyone loves rugby and the support is amazing and people were coming up to me in the shopping mall wishing me good luck for this weekend and that is pretty cool. It is going to be even extra special for the local fans who get to watch the Black Ferns in action live for the first time and there has been a fantastic growth in the women’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series since 2015. The Black Ferns are taking part in the first international sevens to be staged in New Zealand and it will be a four-team women’s tournament with England, France and China.
There will also be a lot of fans backing Fiji, the defending title holders, in the crowd and those guys get tremendous support no matter where we are playing and they love seeing all those flags and messages. We know what a difference that kind of backing can make having been thrilled by the support we got at the Las Vegas leg last year.
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As a squad, we all had a little break over the holiday period and then it was right back into training and being No.1 there is a buzz around the guys and it has brought everyone a little closer. We have talked a lot about becoming a real family as a squad – a brotherhood. We know that guys want to win their home tournament and so we are expecting big things from New Zealand and this is going to a very interesting and exciting leg of the Series.
In Sevens, games are won in the last ten seconds of matches and we have to keep fighting to the very end and we are well aware of just how tough the season is going to be and we all have to back it up next week when we move to Sydney for the next leg.
Watch: Rugby World Cup Japan city guide – Oita
Comments on RugbyPass
If rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
1 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
23 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
1 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
23 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to commentsVern challenging this Blues side might be the edge they need to fulfill their potential. Convincing results from strong D and strong carries are hard to argue against.
1 Go to commentsLove seems to add a strong back field defense with speed to close the gap and tackle to his ability to attack, kick and pass (an accurate long pass). This sets him an edge over some of the other names - JRK in particular. Has to be said that Jordan and Stevenson have also been exposed defensively while Love has yet to face test match intensity. Spoilt for choice.
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